Belt-shifter.



P. L. LUGKE.

BELT SHIPTER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 28. 1907.

No. 890,915. PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

FL y 1 PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908. V F. L. LUGKE.

BELT SHIPTER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 28, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

537 $5 Mg 1.7% A, 50 35;; Wham Mm FRANK L. LUOKE, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

HELT-SHIFTER.

No. stasis.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June i6, 190%.

Application filed December 28, 1907. Serial No. diJWiZfi.

To all whom it may concern:

,Be it known that l, FRANK L. LUCKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Belt-Shifters and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for a simple and eiiicient shifter, especially adapted for use in connection with lathes to quickly shift the driving belt on the reversely arranged stepped cone pulleys of the lathe and the overhead driving shait.

To the above ends the invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of de' vices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

in the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like partsthroughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a view in elevation, with some parts broken away, showing my improved belt shifter aplied for action on ig. 2 is a horizontal section takenon the line 0: :0 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line m m of Fig. i. Fig. l

its object to provide is a horizontal section taken on the irregular line a a of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a view chiefly in side elevation, but partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig. i. Fig.- 6 is a detail in horizontal section, taken on the same line as Fig. 2, but with some part-s broken away and With the parts shown on a larger scale than in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the arts shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a detail in p an, showing a clamp applied to the intermediate portion of a belt shifting loop and Fig. 9 1s a section on the line 0; at oi Fig. *3.

The numeral 1 indicates the frame and the numeral 2 the stepped cone pulley of a lathe of standard constructicni.

The numeral 3 indicates a power driven over-head shaft which carries a steeped cone pulley 4 for cooperation with the athe pul- The numeralii indicates a belt which runs.

over the reversely arranged stepped cone pulleys 2 and t.

the driving belt of a lathe.

In my improved belt shifter I employ an upright rocleshait or rod 6 that is hollow and may be convenient from a piece of iron pipe, the length of which will depend upon the distance of a suitable overhead sup-port? from the lathe.

in different applications of the improved belt shifter, the rock shaft 6 thereof will re quire to be set at various different angles with respect to a true vertical position, and. the bearings for the upper and lower ends thereof will frequently various different kinds of supports and, hence, will have to occupy various dilierent positions with res set to the said rock shaft. Hence, I provide hall and socket bearings for the ends of this rock shaft, and these are preferably constructed as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Short s All) shafts 8 are driven into the ends of the tubular shaft 6 and rigidly secured therein. These stub shafts 8 are proy formed vided at their outer ends with bearing balls or approximatel spherical bearing heads 9 that engage soc ets or concave seats 10 of separable bearing brackets ll. These bearins: brackets 11 are provided with perforated foot flanges 12 that adapt thorn to be bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to a suitable snpport.

One member of each pair of brackets l l is shown as provided with spacing lugs 13 that engage the cooperating bracket. A short nutted bolt 1-1 passed through the intermediate portions of the cooperating brackets 11 securely clamps the two members together. The bearing brackets ll which support the upper end of the rock shaft 6 are shown as se cured to the ceiling or overhead support '7, while the bearing brackets 11 which support the lower end of, said shaft are shown as secured to the lathe iramel.

ltigidly clamped to the lower portion of the rock shaft 6 and rigidly secured thereto, but capable of ivotal and vertical adjust inents thereon, is a clamping head 16 to which an operating lever 17 is pivotally attached.

The device for engagement with the upper portion of the belt 5 to shift the same on the upper stepped cone piilleyh is )referably formed by a metal'rod bent into 1; e forrn of a loop and indicated at 18. The extended portion of this belt shifting loop lliembraces preferably have to be secured to gether by the upwardly movin side of the belt 5 at a distance only slighty below the pulley 4. The prongs of the loop 18 work telesco' ically through 006 crating clamping blocl s 19. The interme iate portions of the adjacent faces of these clamping blocks 19 are cut away and provided with teeth 20 ada ted to tightly engage the exterior of the roe shaft 6, as best shown in Fig. 6. The said clamlping blocks 19 are cut away at 19 so that t e prongs of the loop 18 project laterally into the seats formed by the toothed edges 20, and are thereby adapted to be pressed into frictional engagement with the exterior of the rock shaft 6, when said clamping blocks 19 are tightly drawn onto the said rock shaft. These clampin bolts are adapted to be clamped onto t e said shaft 6 by a pair of nutted bolts 21 passed through suitable perforations in the end portions of the said blocks, the one above and the other below the prongs of the loo 18, as best shown in Figs. 6 and 7. It wi thus be seen that the b0 18 is adapted to be rigidly secured to the cli shaft 6 but is capable of vertical pivotal and endwise adjustments with respect to the said shaft, so that it is adapted to be properly set with respect to the belt 5 upon which it acts.

Preferably, the intermediate portions of the prongs of the shifting loop 18 are tied toa pair of clamping clips 22 which are clamped thereto by a short nutted bolt 23.

With the device applied as above described and as shown in the drawings, the belt may be thrown offfrom one of the faces of the stepped pulley 4 by an oscillatory movement of the shaft 6 and shifting loop 18 imparted thereto by manipulation of the lever 17. The said lever 17 normally hangs down out of the way, approximately as shown by full lines in Fi 1, but when it is to be used it. should be lifted approximately into the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

As is evident, a movement of the shifting loop 18 toward the right with respect to Fig. 2 is required to move the running belt off from a larger and onto a smaller face or section of the stepped ulley 4, while a movement in a reverse irection is required to move the belt from a smaller to a larger section of said pulley; By this device, it is evident that the belt may be shiftedfrom one section to the other of the pulley 4, while the pulley and belt are running. Of course, when the belt is to be moved from a smaller to a larger section of the ulley 4, the lower portion of the belt must st be moved into alinement or contact with the cooperating smaller section of the lathe pulley 2.

in some instances it is desirable touse a shifting loop similar to that above described for shifting the lower portion of the belt from 5 one section to another of the lathe pulley 2,

and when this is found desirable I mount this lower belt shifting loop for independent pivotal movements on the lower portion of, the so-called rock shaft 6. As shown in the drawings, this lower shifting loop 18? is very similar in construction to the loop 18, and

the intermediate portions of its prongs are shown as connected bythe clam ing clips 22 and bolt 23. The ends of t e prongs of said loop 18 are adjustably mounted 1n suitable seats formed in a block or head 24 which has a handiece 25. This block 24 is pivotally mounts on the rock shaft 6 between upper and lower collars 26 and 27 that are adjustably secured on said shaft. This shifting loop 18 engages the lower portion of the downwardly moving side of the belt 5, while the upper shifting loop 18 engages the upper portion of the upwardly moving side of said belt.

The use of the belt shifting deviceabove described eliminates danger, saves time and makes possible the use of a belt that runs tighter than can be otherwise used. Furthermore, the said device is of comparatively small cost and is capable of being easily applied to any lathe or, for that matter, to any other machine where motion is transmitted by means of stepped cone ulleys and a belt.

The so-called shifting oop may take a good many different forms, but must have a part through, or parts between which, the belt runs, so that the belt may be shifted by means of the said loop, so-called.

What I claim is:

1. A belt shifting device comprising a rock shaft, a hand-piece or lever for oscillating the same, a pair of clamping blocks bolted to said shaft and having seats engaging said shaft, and a belt shifting loo the prongs 0 which are secured to said (ilamping blocks but are capable of endwise adjustments with respect thereto, substantially as described.

2. A belt shifting device, comprising a rockshaft, a hand-piece or lever for oscillating the same, a pair of clamping blocks having toothed seats engaging said shaft, a belt shifting loop, the prongs of which are telescoped into seats in said clamping blocks and have exposed portions ad'acent to said shaft capable of being clampe against the same, and nutted bolts assed through said clamping blocks and cllrmpirig the same and the prongs of said shifting loop on said shaft, whereby the said parts are rigidly but adjustably secured together, substantially as described.

3. A belt shifting device comprising a rock shaft, a hand-piece or lever by means of which it may be oscillated, an upper belt shifting loop rigidly secured to said rock shaft, and a lower belt shifting loo pivotally mounted on said shaft, substantia ly as described.

4. The .combination with reversely arranged upper and lower stepped pulleys, and

890,915 res ebelt running thereon, of a belt shifting device comprising a rock shaft :1 hand-piece or lever for oscillat' g the same, an upper belt shiftin 100p secured to said shaft and en- 5 gageab e with the upper portion of the up wardly moving side of said belt, and a lower belt shifting loop ivotally mounted onsaid shaft and engagea 1e with the lower'portion of the downwardly movingside of said belt, substantially as described. 10 In testimony whereof I afiix my signetureu in presence of tWo Witnesses. FRANK L. LUCKE. Witnesses:

HI D. KILGORE, MALIE HoEL. 

